Ed Tech Company Kahoot! Acquires Clever for $500M

Global ed tech company Kahoot! announced plans last week to purchase Clever Inc., a California-based digital learning platform currently used in about 65 percent of U.S. school districts. According to a news release, the partnership plans to bring together two ed tech giants and expand the global reach of Clever, which will continue to operate under the Clever brand within the Kahoot! Group in the years to come.

Kahoot! says it will acquire 100 percent of Clever’s shares for a total value of about $435 to $500 million on a cash and debt-free basis, including up to $65 million based on the performance of the partnership in 2021-2022. The purchase will be settled by a combination of approximately 82 percent cash and 18 percent Kahoot! shares.

“Through this acquisition we see considerable potential to collaborate on education innovation to better service all our users — schools, teachers, students, parents and lifelong learners — and leveraging our global scale to offer Clever’s unique platform worldwide,” Kahoot! CEO Eilert Hanoa said in a news release.

Over the past year, Kahoot says 279 million games have been played on its ed-tech platform, with 1.6 billion participating players in more than 200 countries.

Tyler Bosmeny, CEO and co-founder of Clever, said the partnership will help further expand the company’s footprint beyond the U.S., where the company currently serves nearly 90,000 schools and about 50 percent of students total.

“Being part of the Kahoot! family will give us the opportunity to not only continue our mission, but to accelerate our plans to serve international markets. We are inspired to be a part of Kahoot! Group and excited to work with Eilert and the team to unlock the opportunities ahead for schools around the globe,” he said in a news release.